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US begins formal withdrawal from Paris climate accord

By:
CNN Newsource

Posted at 3:19 PM, Nov 04, 2019

and last updated2019-11-04 16:19:12-05

The Trump administration announced Monday that it will being formally withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accord, the first step in a year-long process to leave the landmark agreement to reduce emissions of planet-warming gases.

"Today the United States began the process to withdraw from the Paris Agreement," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. "Per the terms of the Agreement, the United States submitted formal notification of its withdrawal to the United Nations. The withdrawal will take effect one year from delivery of the notification."

Critics of the withdrawal say that the US leaving an agreement it helped negotiate will harm the country's standing internationally.

"Our credibility is really at an all-time low on this when it's most needed," said Andrew Light, a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute and a former State Department official who helped negotiate the Paris Agreement on behalf of the Obama administration.

Under the framework of the agreement, Monday is the earliest date that the administration can notify the United Nations that the US plans to leave.

But the process cannot be completed until exactly one year later on November 4, 2020, which happens to be one day after the 2020 presidential election.

Should Trump lose the 2020 election, a new president could rejoin the agreement, but would have to put forth new climate commitments to the UN.

The issue of addressing the climate crisis has already emerged as a top campaign issue for many 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, and the timing of the US withdrawal will likely keep the issue at the forefront.

The administration's announcement comes at a time when signals indicate Trump's climate policy is increasingly at odds with public opinion, with polls showing that a majority of Americans are concerned about global warming.

There is also the growing youth-led environmental movement that has drawn millions into the streets around the world to demand climate action from world leaders, another sign of growing global angst about the state of the planet. And in recent months, increasingly dire scientific reports have sounded alarm bells about the state of the planet's oceans and polar regions.

But on Monday, Pompeo said in his statement: "In international climate discussions, we will continue to offer a realistic and pragmatic model -- backed by a record of real world results -- showing innovation and open markets lead to greater prosperity, fewer emissions, and more secure sources of energy."